Ayurvedic Acupuncture

Ayurvedic Acupuncture is a little-known branch of Ayurvedic medicine which has a long history of use in India and surrounding countries. It is known by various names including siravedhana, marmapuncture, suchi-karma, suchi-chikitsa etc.It is also known in Sri Lanka as Vidum Pillissum Vedakama(1) (lit. needling-moxa-treatment) which is a special branch of medicine performed for curing severe diseases by puncturing and heating vital points on the body.

Using Ayurvedic medical theory (of Prana, Tridoshas, Trigunas, 5 Elements and the Ayurvedic method of diagnosis and disease process) the practitioners of Ayurvedic acupuncture develop a method of selecting acupoints on the skin with the use of filiform needles and based on the client’s individual constitution (prakruti) and the presenting dis-ease (vrikruti) in order to balance the human organism and maintain health.

Ayurvedic acupuncture is the ancient Ayurvedic method of using needles suchis (sūci सूचि) at specific points of the body to effect therapy, more specifically the healing ability of the body to effect its cure. Such system based on Ayurveda has been practised for thousands of years in India and later outside of India (including Sri Lanka and Tibet). Many ancient texts relate to this therapy (including the Suchi Veda– science of needling) and specifically practised by the ancient surgical and acupuncture school of Sushruta- the Dhanvantari School and written about in the ancient text, the Sushruta Samhitaover 2500 years ago.